I am going to take a little break from my usual posts about what I am knitting to launch a new endeavor by me and my partner in knitting needle crime, Sheri Hartman.

We are hoping to put together a blog that covers all things newsy about yarn in the San Francisco Bay Area. None of us has the time to keep up with everything involving knitting, crochet, spinning and dyeing happening around the Bay. Nor do we have time to read all the relevant blogs, visit all the great stores, read all the cool magazines, go to all the fun festivals and guilds AND still have time to play with yarn?  So we’re hoping you’ll let us do it for you – gather the strands of important, informative or just plain fun yarn things bubbling up around the San Francisco Bay Area and a little beyond and link you to them.

We put together the content of this post  - our first issue – as a kind of test or sample. Read it, tell us what you think, and we’ll tell you when we go “live” on WordPress.com this summer. Any suggestions? If you’d like to sign up for this blog, subscribe to this one – Kimberly’s Craftini – using the subscribe button on the right, and you’ll get an email notification of our next post.

And now, without further ado . . . .

Knitted Golden Gate – Thanks to “Knitting With Carrots”

Well, summer is here and, dang, we wish we were kids again so we could look forward to a whole two or three months with nuthin’ to do but knit. Or crochet. Or spin or dye. NO JUDGMENT. Just sayin’. But we don’t. Still, here’s hoping this summer in the Bay Area – unlike last summer – has at least a few long, warm (dare we hope “hot”) summer days for getting out that cotton yarn and working away. Here’s what’s going on in June . . . .

News from the Internet:

Crazy Aunt Purl discovered she and George Clooney are neighbors in Studio City (scroll down to May 11 entry). We know if we discovered George was our neighbor, we would get busy knitting something for him. Penis cozy, anyone?

Knitability’s Gwen Bortner has just produced her first online course about entrelac knitting. Gwen is the Le Grand-based author of Entree to Entrelac and has been traveling around the country teaching her entrelac system. Now you don’t have to wait for her to come to you.

Knitter’s Review has a review (imagine that!) of Lion Brand Yarn’s new “Kitchen Cotton.” Guest reviewer Kay Gardiner of Mason-Dixon Knitting fame has this to say: “While other yarns are sipping from demitasses and making sparkling conversation upstairs, Kitchen Cotton is in the scullery, scouring the pots and getting shouted at by the cook. Don’t be fooled by the fresh, pretty colors; Kitchen Cotton works for a living.” We say where’s the yarn that’ll make dinner and take the dogs for a walk? THAT’S the kind of yarn we want.

Knitty wants spinners to take their wheels to the spa. In a thorough article with tons of instructive pictures, spinner Lee Juvan shows how to clean – really clean! – spinning wheels with a vacuum, a cloth,a paper towel, a bottle of oil, a container of furniture wax and a jar of Vaseline. Whew! Looks like housework to us. Where are the margaritas and poolboys?

Ravelry announced the winner of its project bag design contest, held in honor of its fifth anniversary. The contest attracted more than 200 entries and 117,000 votes. Though the winners were from Chicago, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, we West Coasties can be proud of finalist Leanne, a textile and graphic designer working in the Seattle area. More shout outs to “Scootergirl1” of Beaverton, Oregon; “fracksmom” of Whittier, Calif.; Shelley, “ShelleyGerber” of San Diego; “nancycat” of Laguna Hills; “anatrodan” of Los Angeles, among other Californians.

The Feral Knitter will hold two Design-Your-Own Fair Isle 3-day workshops  in the Bay Area.

Margaux Hufnagel, the designer behind San Francisco-based tentenknits announced on her blog that her first pattern in print – a simple sweater with peeky sleeves – will appear in an upcoming issue of Vogue Knitting. Yeah, Margaux! But she also announced that she and her husband are moving to Boston. Boo, Boston!

Thanks to Mighty Distractible Blog

News from Local Stores

Artfibers of San Francisco’s Rox is now an official Ravelry designer with her own pattern store. Congrats, Rox!

Atelier Yarns in San Francisco and its sister store Atelier Marin in San Anselmo have a new online store where they sell rabbit fur yarn. Hippity hop on over (you knew we were gonna say that!).

Big Sky Luxury Yarns (which does not seem to have a website. Seriously?) in Lafayette has a Facebook page now. As we write this, they have 4 “likes.” That probably doesn’t even cover the staff. Go to their Facebook page and show them some love.

K2Tog in Albany is holding “Baby Month” in June. The store will feature models of baby knits, some made from patterns free with purchase of yarn. They are also offering discounts on Eco Butterfly baby kits and on Minnowknit patterns.

Knit This, Purl That  in Pleasanton will host a special event for “Knit in Public Week,” June 9-17. Details were still up in the air (on the winder?) at the time of this writing, so go and check their website.

Knitterly in Petaluma is hosting Julie Weisenberger of cocoknits and her European Finishing Techniques class July 28 from 10 to 1 p.m. And while you’re on her blog, check out Julie’s great advice on how to avoid estimating how much yarn to leave for a long-tail cast on.

Nine Rubies will hold a two-day Noni Flowers Workshop with Noni designer Nora Bellows on August 25 and 26. Bellows is only making two West Coast appearances this year, and this is one of ‘em.

Purlescence Yarns of Sunnyvale is offering seven classes for kids this summer, including spinning, felting and sweater knitting. Wow. Those are some seriously talented kids down there in Sunnyvale. And some very patient sales associates.

Urban Fauna, the San Francisco fiber boutique and creative space, is no longer at its 16th Avenue bricks-and-mortar location. Contact them by phone at 415-664-1267.

A Verb for Keeping Warm will hold “A Memorable Yarn” on June 10 from 3:30 to 5:30 with Brenda Dayne of the podcast “Cast On”. This event is free.

No, this will not be featured in K2Tog’s Baby Month. Thanks to Sheep Shots blog.

News from Local Pattern Designers

Kira K Designs, featuring the work of designer Kira Dulaney of Oakland, has several new patterns for sale including the Transverse Collar. Kira and her friend Brooke Sinnes, the designer behind Napa-based Sincere Sheep, recently appeared together at a joint discussion and trunk show at Albany’s K2Tog.

The Knitting Kninja, based in the East Bay, posted a couple of crazy-long blog posts about “the male gaze” and “knitting photography.” If all of that is just a little too brainiac for you, check out her two new patterns, Dear Jane and Mango Lassi.

White Lies Designs designer Joan McGowan-Michael, based in Sacramento, will be featured in an interview in the August issue of Knit n Style magazine.

Knitting ninja by Sean O’Connor

News from Local Spinners and Dyers

Royale Hare, the yarn dying business of Karen Emrey of Santa Rosa, has a new etsy shop.

Serendipity Spinners Guild of San Jose is in some confusion about where its next two or three monthly meetings will be held. Watch their website for more details.

Sincere Sheep of Napa and Knitted Wit of Portland, Oregon combined forces to form “Among Friends” a yarn and pattern club. Members get yarn from both yarn dyers on alternate months and patterns from Irish Girlie Knits, Fickleknitter and PDXKnitterati.

Umbrian Pottery from La Biscotteria

News from Local Authors

Cooperative Press will publish California Revival Knits, a book of knitting patterns inspired by California Revival architecture of the 1920s by knitwear designer Stephannie Tallent  (yes, she has an extra “n” and an extra “l” in her name: greedy). When she isn’t knitting, ST is a small animal vet in Hermosa Beach, Calif. We at BAY strongly urge you to buy this book at your local yarn store, dammit.

The current issue of Simply Soccupied features sock yarn from three Bay Area dyers, Tactile Fiber Arts of Richmond, Sincere Sheep of Napa and Oakland’s A Verb for Keeping Warm. That’s quite a showing for a single, small region of the country. But then, we Bay Area knitters ROCK!!!!!

That’s it for this first issue! If you have a tip, an event, or a good blog read to share with us, contact Kimberly at kjwinston at comcast dot net or Sheri at sheri dot hartman at gmail dot com.

NOTE – Inclusion does not signify endorsement. The authors have accepted no remuneration, financial or material, for inclusion in this blog.

Check out this crazy amazing blog, written by Ella, an Italian knitter, in both English and Italian. And check out her beautiful designs, from sketch through completion. I am in awe of this woman! She is totally self, taught, too . . .

I bet she pretty and skinny and young and makes a great bolognese, too. I might hate her.

Yesterday, besides being Groundhog Day, was my grandmother’s 103rd birthday. I miss her very much and think of her all the time.

I wish I had more pictures to show you, but my grandmother, Katharine S. Edgar, died in 1992, before digital cameras. We called her Kit. She died before I went to graduate school. She died before I became a journalist, before I came to California, before I got married, before I became a mother, before I became a knitter. I miss her.

Circa 1930s?

So instead, I have taken pictures of some of my favorite pictures of her and uploaded them here. One of these days I’ll have them scanned.

My grandmother was perhaps the most important person in my life. She raised me the first three years of my life. She always believed in me, always supported me, always loved me. She was the second of 4 girls born to a housewife and car salesman in Grafton, West Virginia. Apparently they did not have a whole lot of money as my great-grandfather was not a good businessman. I really wish I had asked more questions – or got better answers – when she was alive.

This I know: My grandmother was 20 when the Depression hit. She had to work to go to school – I don’t know where she went, but I believe it was in Florida, where the family had moved. I don’t believe she finished school. But she worked to put at least one of her younger sisters, my great-aunt Martha, through school, too, tho I do not know if she graduated either. My grandmother told me a story once – when she was working as a secretary during the 1930s she allowed herself 25 cents for a week’s worth of lunches. That 5 cents a day got her coffee and yesterday’s doughnut at a coffeeshop near her office. Once day, they boss came into the coffeeshop and sat with or near my grandmother before she ordered. So she blew her whole quarter on a sandwich so he wouldn’t see she could only afford an old doughnut.

I love that story.

My grandmother - second from left - and her sisters, Martha at the right

My grandmother was s single mom. The story I heard – probably from my mom – was my grandmother knew her marriage was on the rocks and she knew she wanted a baby. So she took matters into her own hands and got pregnant with my mom and then split from her husband. She was 33 when my mom was born – very old for a first-time mom back then. She lived with my great-aunt Martha, who never married, and later, their mother, Vivian, in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where my grandmother was the local bank president’s secretary (the president was her brother-in-law, and then her nephew – where does this still happen today?). She knew every bank customer’s first name and they knew hers.

She saved for years to send my mom to college, but my mom only lasted a year. So when I got to college age, my grandmother said she’d send me anywhere I wanted to go. And she did. And when she died, she left me comfortable enough that I could go to Columbia for graduate school.

I so wish she could see me now.

So why am I writing about her on my craft blog? Because she taught me to knit. It didn’t really “take” – I didn’t knit anything more than Barbie scarves and blankets. But I know she taught me to throw my yarn with my right hand – to be a shuttle knitter. So part of her is with me in every single stitch.

Grandma, I love you so much. Happy Birthday to my favorite groundhog.

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 11,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

I know, I know. I haven’t blogged at all in the month of October. My new job at Religion News Service is really fun and is also taking a lot of my time. Plus, I am still working two days a week at K2Tog. Plus teaching knitting. Plus, my husband and I went on a lovely vacation to Kaua’i in October as well. Whine, whine, whine.

So in a little lull I have today, I am gonna post. I am. Really.

What’s been up? In addition to writing my butt off, I have also been knitting my fingers down to little nubs. What have I been working on? here’s a sample . . . .

Knitting on the beach

Uber-fabulous K2Tog customer and knitter Yolanda Schatz came in working on a little shawlette pattern from Ravelry called The Holden Shawlette by Mindy Wilkes. Very simple triangle construction and right away I could see some interesting possibilities for beads. So I grabbed a ball of Schaeffer cotton out of my stash and took it and the pattern to Kaua’i. The first 2/3 of the shawl are just stockinette stitch – perfect for beach knitting, especially beach knitting with a Mai Tai. I finished it on Po’ipu Beach and immediately photographed it.

"Rick" sock

Also been working on the “Kai Mei” sock from Cookie A’s Sock Innovation book for a knit-along class I am teaching based on the book at K2Tog. My first group of students easily tackled “Angee” and this Wednesday we are moving on to “Rick,” then “Eunice” and then, in December, “Kai Mei.” I really love Cookie A’s designs – complicated, yet clean and logical. I’ve been knitting up mine in a combination of Madeline Tosh Sock and Dream In Color Smooshy. Very lovely.

I’ve been teaching another knit-along based on Ravelry’s Summer Flies Shawlette by Donna Griffin, which I have taught several times and never seems to fail to get my students’ juices going. So far, every time I have taught this class, at least one student has come to the second of the three classes with a shawl done and another one already on the needles. This little shawl is addictive! I have my eye on some Art Yarns Beaded Silk and Silk Rhapsody we got in the store for a really indulgent version.

What else? I finished my Jade Cashmere One Skein Shawl designed by Fickle Knitter Michelle Miller. I am very happy with the way it came out, but not happy that it took me more than one ball of yarn. I really enjoyed working the knitted-on border and am anxious to start a new Fickle Knitter pattern from my collection of patterns purchased from her at TNNA.

I am about 10 rows away from completing my Aeolian Shawl (take that, Mikako and Tracey, both of whom finished before me!). I am working it in some Schaeffer lace weight cotton and adding beads and I am really thrilled both with the way it is working up and the experience of knitting with lace weight cotton. On my Hiya Hiya needles, it just clicks along quickly. Another customer, Sharon, came in the weekend with her completed Aeolian and it was spectacular! It was done in Claudia Hand Paints Silk Lace with silver beads and when she took it our of her bag two other customers immediately signed up for the Aeolian knit-along I am teaching in December. I plan to use a skein of flame-colored silk lace I got from Lisa Souza last Stitches.

What else (as if that isn’t enough – I have start-itis). I have 3 sweaters on the needles. Won’t go into them because it’s too embarrassing to have that many project started and not done.

That’s enough for now. I hope to finish up the Aeolian tonight and tomorrow. Sharon said it took her 5 hours to bind off (!!!!!)

Mikako's Aeolian

Sigh. Mikako. Need I say any more than that? Look at Mikako Endo’s lovely FINISHED Aeolian Shawl. I am still about 6 inches form the end of mine – and I’m the one teaching this damn thing in Dec.

And she did it in black. And she did it after just completing the Swallowtail Shawl. And she just posted the other day that she finished a Haruni – I think it is her third, but I have stopped counting.

Sigh,

Luckily we love you

I know, I haven’t written an entry in a whole – probably more than a month. Don’t read anything special into that. I have been very busy with a new job for Religion News Service and my old job with K2Tog. Balancing the two is doable – but delicate. If I haven’t written, it’s only because I’ve been busy – there have also been visits from my mother-in-law and both sons, too! A happy circumstance.

Oh, one bummer to report – I did not win or place in the Claudia Handpaints Shawl the Love Contest. Oh, well. I love my Revidere Shawl and look forward to getting it back. Can’t wait to see picture of the winners, too! Bet they rock.

My Revidere Shawl

So, what have I been making lately? Truth is, way too much. I must have 12 to 18 knitting projects going right now, and that is just too damn much. I have no fewer than THREE sweaters going. WTF? And maybe 4 lace shawls? I also don’t have the time or energy to talk about all of those, so here’s a sampling of what’s been going on and off the needles.

Tracey D and her fabulous shawl

A really fun thing to talk about it the extension of my last Knitting Lace Triangles class at K2Tog. The women in that group liked each other and the projects so much we decided to continue the group informally. So far, we’ve been meeting every two weeks and are at work on a rather difficult piece published in Knitty called the Aeolian Shawl. I had to take about about 20 rows yesterday when the shift from one chart to another looked like poo. I am going to be teaching the Aeolian as a knit along later this fall, so I better get it in gear!

The Aeolian marks my first foray into knitting cotton lace. I have had a gorgeous skein of Blue Heron Yarn‘s cotton lace in my stash for a long time – a couple of years at least – and I broke it out for this project. It was a 1,000 yard hank, so I broke it into two balls for easier transport. So far, I am really liking the experience. I don’t know why cotton gets such a bad rap among knitters! Perhaps it has to do with tension – if you are a tight knitter, I can see how cotton’s lack of give would be a problem. I am not tight and find its slickness and the way it does not split really fun to knit.

Swarovski pearls and crystals

I’ve also been beading a lot. I am participating in Art in the Yard again in Sept. in Concord, Calif. and have to get my stock of necklaces, bracelets, earrings, etc up. I’ve been doing a lot of netted necklaces and a few wire-wrapped pieces, too. I gotta get more in the bag for this event, because I’ll be in Durham on business when it happens and husband Terry will have to sell for me!

In the card category, I’ve been making two kinds lately. First is a sort of girlie, pin-up type, with the images cut from a page-a-day calendar I received as a birthday or Christmas gift a couple of years ago. I love these girls and am using a retro-style background stamp with a ribbon trim to highlight their colors. I’ve also been making some mosaic cards based on a Papyrus card I bought for my husband’s birthday. I am using a 3/4 inch punch to create the tiles, then after assembling them I bling the whole thing up with a little touch of glitter. I love glitter glue!

Mosaic Cards

Okay, that gets my toe back in the blogging water. I promise to blog more. I think I’ll keep up a running monologue on the Aeolian to help folks who are trying to make it, like I did with Haruni.

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rickandrach/2/1310288139/tpod.html.

These are ourfriends Rick and Rachel and their 13-year-old daughter traveling abroad.